Research into neurodegeneration is often confined to a single disease, cell type or mechanism. A new collection of articles explores…
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Rethinking neurodegeneration: placing disease in its physiological context
Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as motor neuron disease) and Huntingdon’s disease, affect tens of millions of people globally, yet current treatments are unable to halt or reverse disease. The majority of research into neurodegeneration is confined to a single disease, cell type or mechanism, making it difficult to spot commonalities and trends across the full spectrum of disease. By taking a step back and viewing neurodegeneration within its wider physiological context, we may be able to make meaningful connections. This collection of articles looks beyond diseased neurons to explore neurodegeneration in relation to the rest of the nervous system and its surrounding environment, highlighting the research underpinning our current knowledge and looking towards the future of the field. Articles cover topics such as why neurodegeneration targets some cells and not others, the roles of immune cells, oligodendrocytes and the vasculature in neurodegenerative disease, and how to better model disease in the lab to improve mechanistic understanding and drug screening.
PLOS Biology
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PLOS Biology Rethinking neurodegeneration: Placing disease in its physiological context
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PLOS Biology Why are some neurons spared in neurodegeneration? Cellular subtype identity maintenance as a candidate threshold-setting mechanism
Neurodegenerative diseases often damage some neuronal populations while sparing closely related neighbors. But instead of asking why some…
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PLOS Biology Oxidative signaling thresholds shape vulnerability in the central and peripheral nervous systems
Neurodegeneration is frequently associated with oxidative stress, yet the mechanisms that convert reactive oxygen species (ROS) into…
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PLOS Biology Disease-associated microglia in neurodegenerative diseases: Friend or foe?
Recent advances in single-cell transcriptomics have led to the identification of disease-associated microglia (DAM) as a distinct,…
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PLOS Biology Does perturbed adaptive myelination contribute to cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease?
The consequences of oligodendrocyte involvement in Alzheimer’s disease are poorly understood. Could a key role of gray-matter…
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PLOS Biology Alzheimer’s disease research must connect vascular molecular phenotypes with physiology
Molecular profiling studies have mapped vascular alterations in Alzheimer’s disease, but have not proven a role for them in pathology.…
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PLOS Biology Cellular diversity in neural organoids is critical for neurodegenerative disease modeling
Neuroinflammation and vascular dysfunction are hallmarks of most neurodegenerative diseases. For organoids intended to model…
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PLOS Biology Could targeting viruses be a new hope against neurodegenerative diseases?
Despite decades of intensive research, our current approaches to treating neurodegenerative diseases only slow down the seemingly…
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PLOS Biology Therapeutic delivery systems need to focus on cellular precision to target neurodegeneration
The central problem when delivering drugs to the brain is no longer crossing the blood–brain barrier, but delivering therapeutics to the…